The Canadiens said they wanted to give backup goaltender Peter Budaj more support and they did just that, limiting the Philadelphia Flyers to 19 shots en route to a 4-1 victory Saturday night at the Bell Centre.

It was the third straight win for the Canadiens, who moved into first place in the Northeast Division. They are one point ahead of Boston and Toronto. The Bruins have two games in hand on the Canadiens, who have one game in hand on the Maple Leafs.

Budaj, who was handed the start after Carey Price came down with flu-like symptoms, rode the strong defensive effort to his first win of the season after losing his first two starts. Budaj had his best moments late in the third period when he reached back with his stick to keep an Erik Gustafsson shot from crossing the goal line and then stopped two rebound attempts by Tye McGinn.

“It was an easy shot from the point, but it trickled through,” Budaj said. “I looked back, hoping that it hadn’t crossed the line.”